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Women's Basketball Downs Albany 73-56 Wednesday
March 9, 2006 HARTFORD, Conn. - Ashley Underwood scored a career-high tying 24 points for the second-consecutive game to lead eighth-seeded Maine to a 73-56 win over No. 9-seed Albany Thursday night in the first round of the 2006 America East Tournament at the Chase Arena. Maine improved to 10-18, while Albany concluded its season with a 7-21 record. The Black Bears will now face No. 1-seed and regular season champion Hartford on Friday night at 6 p.m. in the quarterfinals. Underwood tied the school-record with six three-pointers, while the mark was just one shy of the tournament record held by former Black Bear standout Cindy Blodgett. In addition to Underwood, Bracey Barker added 15 points and five rebounds. Abby Schrader and Lindsey Hugstad-Vaa were Maine's other double-figure scorers at 12 and 10 points, respectively. Hugstad-Vaa was a perfect 5-of-5 shooting from the floor in the contest. The game was tied at 35 at halftime, but the Black Bear defense came up big in the final 20 minutes as it limited the Great Dames to just 21 points. Maine shot 56 percent from the field in the contest (27-of-48), including a 59 percent clip (13-of-22) in the second half. Albany held a 44-39 lead with 14:40 remaining in the contest, but Maine countered by scoring 16 of the next 22 points to take a 55-50 lead and never trail the rest of the way. The run was sparked and capped by layups from Abby Schrader.
With the win, Maine improved to 34-13 all-time in the America East Tournament. The Black Bears also improved to 16-5 all-time in opening round games. Prior to Thursday's win, the last 14 times Maine won its opening round game, the Black Bears advanced to the tournament championship.
The win also gave Maine a three-game sweep of Albany for the season, marking the second time in the last three seasons it turned the trick. Friday's contest with Hartford can be heard on the internet at www.zoneradio.com(.) |
